Modular layout form for embedding objects in a settable material

ABSTRACT

A modular layout form has a substantially planar rear for attachment to a support structure, and a substantially planar front having a two-dimensional array of receptacles for holding objects to be embedded in a settable material (e.g., concrete) in a predetermined pattern with staggered courses. The form has substantially straight lateral edges, which results in a pattern of incomplete receptacles along the lateral edges. Object-retention members (e.g., clips, tabs or elastomeric rims) extend into the receptacles for securing objects in the receptacles. Adjacent forms can be combined by abutting their lateral edges with their incomplete receptacles aligned to create completed receptacles. Objects are then inserted into the completed receptacles to engage the object-retention members and hold the adjacent forms together.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of forms used in the construction industry for embedding a pattern of objects (e.g., bricks) in a settable material, such as concrete. More specifically, the present invention discloses a modular layout form that can be readily combined with other similar modular forms to create an assembly of any desired size for embedding a pattern of objects in a settable material.

2. Statement of the Problem

Simulated brick construction has become increasingly common in construction of modern buildings and other concrete structures. With the scarcity of skilled workers today, the cost of fabricating a true brick or masonry wall has become a significant concern. To address these problems, many construction companies have turned to simulated brick building panels that are backed by concrete to form a wall or structure having a simulated brick exterior appearance. This type of construction has a major shortcoming in that the panels can be difficult to handle and position at the construction site, particularly when dealing with large building panels. Examples of the prior art in the field of such building panels include U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,719 (Salazar), U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,423 (Poutanen et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,228 (Taylor) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,875 (Van Gasse).

Another approach uses brackets or retainers for holding a pattern of bricks, tiles or similar objects that are fastened to the inside surface of a concrete wall form. When concrete is poured into the form, it flows around the exposed surfaces of the bricks, which become embedded in the concrete. After the concrete sets, the concrete wall form and brackets are disassembled and removed. This results in a structure in which the bricks are embedded in the outer surface of the wall. The prior art in this field includes the Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,922,235, 6,186,469 and 5,667,190 (Scott et al.). These patents show a bracket for holding an individual brick tile. A number of brackets can be clipped together in any of a variety of arrangements and fastened to the inside surface of a concrete wall form to create an assembly for holding a corresponding number of bricks. However, this approach can require considerable labor to assemble a large form.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,387 (Scott et al.) shows an example of a construction form for use in a vertical position that uses any of a variety of retaining devices (e.g., clips, elastic members, or spring-loaded members) for holding construction objects in the receptacles of the form.

Another type of retainer shown in the prior art uses a liner or mat deployed in a horizontal position. These retainers are usually made from an elastomeric material and have a two-dimensional pattern of receptacles. Each receptacle is shaped to closely fit the outside perimeter of one of the bricks to be held in place. Examples of the prior art in this field include U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,180 (Scott et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,476 (Iragorri). This type of retainer is typically arranged in a horizontal position because it lacks a positive device for securely holding the bricks in position. Concrete is poured over the bricks and retainer in a horizontal form. After the concrete has set, the resulting panel can be removed and installed in any desired orientation in the construction project. These liners or mats have a number of shortcomings. Most importantly, they are not generally suitable for use on the vertical walls of concrete forms, which means they cannot be used to form a vertical wall or structure in place. Individual panels must be moved and assembled after forming, which limits their size and commonly results in visible seams or lines between the assembled panels.

3. Solution to the Problem

The present invention addresses the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a modular form having receptacles for holding a plurality of bricks or similar construction objects in a predetermined pattern that can be attached to the vertical wall of a concrete form. The receptacles in the forms are arranged in staggered courses similar to conventional patterns in bricklaying, which results in the lateral edges of each form having a pattern of incomplete receptacle (e.g., half-brick recesses). Object-retention members (e.g., clips, tabs or an elastomeric rim) extend into the receptacles for holding a brick in a receptacle.

Multiple forms can be combined to create a larger pattern of any desired size by abutting the lateral edges of adjacent forms with their incomplete receptacles aligned to create completed receptacles. Bricks are then inserted into the receptacles, including the completed receptacles, to hold the forms together and provide a completed pattern of bricks over the assembled forms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a modular layout form having a substantially planar rear for attachment to a support structure, and a substantially planar front having a two-dimensional array of receptacles for holding objects to be embedded in a settable material (e.g., concrete) in a predetermined pattern with staggered courses. The form has substantially straight lateral edges, which results in a pattern of incomplete receptacles along the lateral edges. Object-retention members (e.g., clips, tabs or elastomeric rims) extend into the receptacles for securing objects in the receptacles. Adjacent forms can be combined by abutting their lateral edges with their incomplete receptacles aligned and adjacent to one another to create completed receptacles. Objects are then inserted into the completed receptacles to engage the object-retention members and hold the adjacent forms together.

These and other advantages, features, and objects of the present invention will be more readily understood in view of the following detailed description and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more readily understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a modular layout form 10.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the form 10 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the form 10 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the form 10 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 a is a detail bottom view of a portion of the form 10 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the form in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 a is a detail top view of a portion of the form 10 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a left side elevational view of the form 10 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 a is a detail left side elevational view of a portion of the form 10 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a right side elevational view of the form 10 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 a is a detail right side elevational view of a portion of the form 10 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a detail perspective view showing a brick 50 being inserted into one of the receptacles 11 of a form 10.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing an assembly of forms 10 a-10 f.

FIG. 10 is a detail cross-sectional view showing a brick 50 being inserted into a completed receptacle between two adjacent forms 10 a and 10 b.

FIG. 11 is a detail cross-sectional view showing a half brick 52 being inserted into one of the half-brick receptacles 15 at the edge of a form 10.

FIG. 12 is a detail cross-sectional view of an assembled form 10 with a concrete wall 55 and embedded bricks 50.

FIG. 13 is another detail cross-sectional view of the assembled form 10, concrete wall 55 and embedded bricks 50 in FIG. 12.

FIG. 13 a is a detail cross-sectional view of the bead between two adjacent bricks 50 in FIGS. 12 and 13.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the form 10 assembly being removed from a finished wall.

FIG. 15 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the form 10 with an elastomeric rim 13 around each receptacle 11 for holding bricks.

FIG. 16 is a detail perspective view of a brick 50 being inserted into one of the receptacles 11 of the form 10 shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a detail cross-sectional view of a brick 50 being inserted into one of the receptacles 11 of the form 10 shown in FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a detail cross-sectional view of an assembled form and wall using the embodiment of the form 10 in FIGS. 15-17.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing the form assembly in FIG. 18 being removed from a finished wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning to FIG. 1, a perspective view is shown of a modular layout form 10 embodying the present invention. Corresponding front and rear elevational views of the form 10 are provided in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. FIG. 4 is a bottom view and FIG. 5 is a top view of this form. Left and right side elevational views of the form are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively.

As shown in these drawings, the form 10 has a substantially planar rear for attachment to a support structure, such as a concrete wall form. The form 10 also has a substantially planar front with a two-dimensional array of receptacles 11 for holding a plurality of objects (e.g., bricks or tiles) in a predetermined pattern. For example, the form 10 can be molded out of a suitable plastic to provide a degree of flexibility and resilience. The rear surface of the form 10 can be a thin layer of plastic that allows the form 10 to be stapled 65 to a concrete wall form 60, as depicted in FIGS. 8 and 17. A number of windows 14 can be created in this rear surface to reduce weight and cost, as shown in FIGS. 1-3.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 implements a conventional running bond for bricks, in which each course of receptacles 11 is staggered with respect to adjacent courses by about one half brick. It should be understood that other patterns of staggered courses could also be employed in the present invention. The lateral edges of the form 10 are substantially straight and parallel to one another. This results in a pattern of incomplete receptacles 15 along the lateral edges as part of the larger pattern of receptacles 11 on the front of the form 10. In the particular embodiment shown in the drawings, alternating courses have an incomplete, half-brick receptacle 15 along the lateral edges of the form 10. It should be expressly understood that other bonds or other patterns of construction objects could be readily substituted to create lateral edges with virtually any suitable recurring pattern of incomplete receptacles 15.

Each of the receptacles 11 in the front of the form 10 is generally intended to hold a single construction object, such as a brick or tile. The embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings is designed to hold rectangular bricks, which result in substantially horizontal edges on the recesses and protrusions, but other object shapes (e.g., hexagonal, octagonal or round) could be substituted. The perimeter of each receptacle 11 is defined by perimeter walls 18 that also serve to form the grout line or grouted area between objects in the finished wall. With the exception of the incomplete receptacles 15 at the lateral edges of the form 10, each receptacle 11 is typically completely surrounded by these perimeter walls 18. In contrast, the incomplete receptacles 15 lack a perimeter wall along the lateral edge of the form 10.

Each receptacle 11 (and particularly the incomplete receptacle 15) is equipped with a number of object-retention members 12 extending into the receptacle 11 for holding a construction object in the receptacle 11. For example, these object-retention members can be resilient plastic clips or tabs 12 extending into the receptacle 11 from its perimeter walls 18 as disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,190 (Scott et al.), which is incorporated herein by reference. These object-retention members 12 are compressed when a brick is inserted into a receptacle, and then hold the brick in the receptacle by a friction fit.

Returning to FIGS. 1-5 and the detail top and bottom views provided in FIGS. 4 a and 5 a, it should be noted that the horizontal top and bottom edges of the form 10 are equipped with sets of tabs 24 and slots 22 for engaging complementary slots and tabs on adjacent forms above and below. These tabs 24 are also illustrated more clearly in the detail left and right side elevational views provided in FIGS. 6( a) and 7(a), respectively. The tabs 24 and slots 22 allow a plurality of forms to be vertically stacked. The particular embodiment shown in these figures uses two tabs 24 and one slot 22 on the bottom edge of the form 10. In contrast, there are one tab 24 and two slots 22 on the top edge of the form 10. Other combinations or arrangements of complementary tabs and slots could be employed. Preferably, the slots 22 and tabs 24 are in the plane of the form 10 and adjacent to the rear of the form 10.

The following is a discussion of the ways in which these forms can be combined. Forms can be stacked vertically simply by sliding the lower horizontal edge of one form against the upper horizontal edge of a second form, so that tabs 24 on the first form engage slots 22 on the second form, and tabs 24 on the second form engage corresponding slots 22. Any desired number of forms can be stacked vertically in this manner to achieve a required height, as shown for example in FIG. 9.

Forms can also be combined horizontally (or laterally) as illustrated in FIG. 9. In FIG. 10, adjacent forms 10 a and 10 b are placed in lateral abutment. The incomplete receptacles 15 on the lateral edges of the adjacent forms 10 a and 10 b align to create completed receptacles in the resulting pattern. In the particular embodiment shown in the drawings, each adjacent pair of incomplete half-brick receptacles 15 combines to form a completed full-brick receptacle in the overall, combined pattern of receptacles defined by the forms. A construction object 50 (e.g., a brick or tile) is then inserted into each completed receptacle to engage the object-retention members (e.g., clips 12). Thus, the construction object 50 secures the adjacent forms to one another. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing insertion of a brick 50 into one of the completed receptacles.

Construction objects 50 are also inserted into the remaining receptacles 11 of the forms to complete the pattern of construction objects, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Typically, full bricks 50 are inserted into each of the full-size receptacles 11 in the pattern as depicted in FIG. 8. It should be noted that incomplete receptacles 15 may still exist in the pattern, such as along the exposed lateral edges of the combined forms or at corners. Partial bricks 52 (e.g., half bricks) may be inserted into these incomplete receptacles 15, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11.

FIG. 9 through 14 illustrate the steps in using the present invention to create a wall or similar structure after a set of forms has been assembled and secured to a supporting structure 60. As previously discussed, bricks 50, 52 are first placed in all of the receptacles 11, 15 of the forms are depicted in FIG. 9-11. Concrete 55 is then poured into the form assembly, so that the bricks 50 become embedded in the concrete. The concrete 55 is allowed to set. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled form with a concrete wall 55 and embedded bricks 50. FIG. 13 is another cross-sectional view of the assembled form and concrete wall 55. FIG. 13 a is a detail cross-sectional view of the bead or grout line between two adjacent bricks 50 in FIG. 13. Finally, the form assembly is removed from a finished wall as shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 15 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a modular layout form 10 using an elastomeric rim 13 around the periphery of each receptacle 11 as the objection-retention member for holding bricks. This elastomeric rim 13 can be made of an elastic polymer that is bonded to the peripheral walls 18 and extends into each receptacle 11, including the incomplete receptacles 15. The elastomeric rim 13 is compressed when a brick is inserted into a receptacle, and holds the brick in the receptacle by a friction fit. FIG. 16 is a detail perspective view of a brick 50 being inserted into one of the receptacles 11 of the form 10. A corresponding detail cross-sectional view is provided in FIG. 17. FIG. 18 is a detail cross-sectional view of an assembled form and wall. Finally, FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing the form assembly being removed from a finished wall.

The above disclosure sets forth a number of embodiments of the present invention described in detail with respect to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in this art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, other structural arrangements, and other embodiments could be practiced under the teachings of the present invention without departing from the scope of this invention as set forth in the following claims. 

1. A modular layout form for embedding objects in a settable material comprising: a substantially planar rear for attachment to a support structure; a substantially planar front having a two-dimensional array of receptacles for holding a plurality of objects in a predetermined pattern having a plurality of courses; substantially straight lateral edges resulting in a pattern of incomplete receptacles along the lateral edges in the pattern of receptacles on the front of the layout form; and object-retention members extending into the incomplete receptacles for holding an object in a receptacle; whereby a plurality of forms can be combined by abutting the lateral edges of adjacent forms with their incomplete receptacles aligned to create completed receptacles, and wherein adjacent forms can be held together by inserting objects into the completed receptacles to engage the object-retention members.
 2. The modular layout form of claim 1 wherein the courses are staggered with respect to one another.
 3. The modular layout form of claim 2 wherein alternating courses have incomplete receptacles along the lateral edges.
 4. The modular layout form of claim 1 further comprising object-retention members extending into each of the receptacles.
 5. The modular layout form of claim 1 further comprising peripheral walls around the receptacles.
 6. The modular layout form of claim 5 wherein the object-retention members comprise sets of clips extending from the peripheral walls into the receptacles to retain objects in the receptacles.
 7. The modular layout form of claim 5 wherein the object-retention members comprise an elastomeric rim extending around the peripheral walls in the receptacles to retain objects in the receptacles.
 8. The modular layout form of claim 5 wherein the peripheral walls form grout lines between adjacent objects in the settable material.
 9. A modular layout form for embedding objects in a settable material comprising: a substantially planar rear for attachment to a support structure; a substantially planar front having a two-dimensional array of receptacles with peripheral walls for holding a plurality of objects in a predetermined pattern having a plurality of courses; substantially straight lateral edges resulting in a pattern of incomplete receptacles along the lateral edges in the pattern of receptacles on the front of the layout form; and sets of clips extending from the peripheral walls into the receptacles for holding objects in the receptacles; whereby a plurality of forms can be combined by abutting the lateral edges of adjacent forms with their incomplete receptacles aligned to create completed receptacles, and wherein adjacent forms can be held together by inserting objects into the completed receptacles.
 10. The modular layout form of claim 9 wherein the courses are staggered with respect to one another.
 11. The modular layout form of claim 10 wherein alternating courses have incomplete receptacles along the lateral edges.
 12. The modular layout form of claim 9 wherein the peripheral walls form grout lines between adjacent objects in the settable material.
 13. The modular layout form of claim 9 wherein the receptacles are rectangular.
 14. A modular layout form for embedding objects in a settable material comprising: a substantially planar rear for attachment to a support structure; a substantially planar front having a two-dimensional array of receptacles with peripheral walls for holding a plurality of objects in a predetermined pattern having a plurality of courses; substantially straight lateral edges resulting in a pattern of incomplete receptacles along the lateral edges in the pattern of receptacles on the front of the layout form; and elastomeric rims extending inward from the peripheral walls into the receptacles for holding objects in the receptacles; whereby a plurality of forms can be combined by abutting the lateral edges of adjacent forms with their incomplete receptacles aligned to create completed receptacles, and wherein adjacent forms can be held together by inserting objects into the completed receptacles.
 15. The modular layout form of claim 14 wherein alternating courses have an incomplete receptacles along the lateral edges.
 16. The modular layout form of claim 14 wherein the peripheral walls form grout lines between adjacent objects in the settable material.
 17. The modular layout form of claim 14 wherein the receptacles are rectangular. 